Muslims and Islamophobia

Ammar Ibn Aziz Ahmed

When it hasn't
been misinterpreted and corrupted by fanatics, Islam is a religion based
entirely on peace, tolerance and respect. Such values can be found in all
faiths, from Judaism and Christianity to Buddhism and Hinduism. And as the
religious scholar Reza Aslan pointed out during a debate on CNN debate this
week, all of these religions, including Buddhism, have their violent
fundamentalists who wreak havoc in the world…..

Greg Jennett

Jacqui Lambie

"I've
never come across a situation where a woman was wearing a face veil because her
husband or some other male relative forced her. "It's their choice. They
want to do it because they feel it makes them more pious, or because it is a
symbol of identity or because it's something that all the women in their family
do. "It ought to be a matter of a woman's choice what she wears. Jacqui
Lambie really needs to understand that."……

Aftab Ahmad, New Age Islam

In India many Sufis came from Arab, Afghanistan, Iran and other countries to spread Islam. They carried out their duty of propagating the message of Islam for centuries. None of them had the resources and wealth Dr Zakir Naik has. They did not have the reach Dr Naik has but it was their utmost sincerity for the cause of God that helped them spread the word of God in every corner of the country. The people came to them and converted to Islam under their initiation. It was the personal decision of the individuals. Neither the neo-Muslim created hype over it nor the Sufi publicised his ‘achievement’ because he believed that if a non-Muslim came to him and converted to Islam at his initiation, he did not deserve the credit because only God gives guidance to anyone He wills.......

Mira Sucharov

Mira Sucharov

It happens every few weeks or so. If you’re Jewish, it probably happens to you, too. An email arrives from an acquaintance or a relative, invariably including a forwarded message. I click on it, and out pours the worst kind of anti-Semitic dribble, like burning lava seeping across my keyboard. But wait. It’s not anti-Semitism at all. It’s anti-Muslim sentiment. It’s easy to think, at first, that it’s the old, vile anti-Semitic canards. Substitute the word Jew for Muslim; the word Judaism for Islam; the word vermin for evil, and it’s nearly the same…..

Waris Mazhari

Waris Mazhari

Islamophobia and Westophobia are two sides of the same coin. They cannot survive without each other. Mounting Westophobia can only further strengthen the forces of Islamophobia. This is something Muslims must realise. They must also recognise that hatred for the West is no solution for anything—unlike what Muslim Westophobes might insist.....

Arnold Ahlert

Arnold Ahlert

I believe a national discussion regarding what constitutes a clear and present danger is vitally necessary. Again, pressing beyond those who would label such a discussion Islamophobic, it would be useful to know how many of America’s approximately 2.6 million Muslims are being encouraged to embrace Islamist radicalization. As the increasing Islamisation of Europe suggests, ignoring this possibility doesn’t make it go away. Rather it festers like an unaddressed cancer until every sixth Frenchman becomes a jihadist cheerleader – or potential collaborator……

Doug Bandow

Doug Bandow

The world is aflame. Religious minorities are among those who suffer most from increasing conflict. Pakistan is one of the worst homes for non-Muslims. The U.S. government should designate that nation as a "Country of Particular Concern" for failing to protect religious liberty, the most basic right of conscience……

Dan Molyneux

Dan Molyneux

One of the stated jihadist goals is the creation of a global caliphate governed by Sharia law. This is not limited to al-Qaida, but includes millions of Islamist fundamentalists primarily belonging to Wahhabi and Shiite sects. Members of any religion are capable of horrendous violence and evil, but can you recall a Jewish, Buddhist, or Roman Catholic suicide bomber who murdered hundreds of innocent people to honor their god....

Michael Blackburn

Now in Iraq, as the ancient Sunni versus Shia civil war steps up a gear, the bien pensants of the western media claim the core of the conflict is “sectarian”. That’s just a weasely way of saying it’s the fault of religion in general to avoid laying any culpability on the religion of peace itself because all religions are the same, you see. Well, they are if you are a know-nothing modern intellectual. Sunni and Shia may be at each other’s throats because of their differences….

Mehmet Çelik

Thirteen years after Sept. 11, 2001, the term "Islamophobia" continues to be an inevitable topic when discussing contemporary culture and politics. Islamophobia can be defined as prejudice against, fear of, or hatred towards members of the Islamic community, Muslims or those ethnic groups that are identified or perceived as Muslim. In other words, xenophobia is motivated by unfounded fear, mistrust and hatred of Muslims and Islam….

Sara R Farris

Sara R Farris

On the one hand, conservative leaders such as current UK Prime Minister David Cameron, France's former President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi have repeatedly invoked the Christian roots of European countries, while, on the other, a much broader gamut of political forces, including liberals and leftists, have participated in decrying the headscarf as a symbol of backwardness and oppression. The voices nourishing anti-Muslim sentiment across Europe come from all sides of the political map. Muslims have thus become, at least in many ways, the new Jews….

Ali Yurttagül

Ali Yurttagül

Turkey holds a key position in a possible struggle against Islamophobia in Europe. It is also a country that may have the potential to serve as a significant column in the structure of European values. Unfortunately, currently, we lack policies and politicians who would use this potential……

Abdullah Bozkurt

Abdullah Bozkurt

The rabble-rouser speeches he has delivered on the campaign trail and defamation articles published by Erdoğan-controlled media stigmatize Jews, Christians and even Muslims who do not subscribe to Erdoğan's firebrand political Islamist ideology that has close affinity with its brethren in other countries, albeit marginal…..

Ali A. Rizvi

Ali A. Rizvi

When you're unable to introduce Pakistan-style blasphemy laws in a secular, Western society, you have to find alternative ways to silence those who offend you, right? And that's where the "Islamophobia" smear comes in -- the ultimate, lazy substitute for a non-existent counter-argument. Don't fall for it……

Rashid Samnakay, New Age Islam

A well designed and colour co-ordinated Hijab, the scarf that frames the face of a woman, makes even an average woman look attractive. However for full face covering–… ignominy will cover their faces--refer to 10-27 of Quran.....

Paul Austin Murphy

In consequence of all that, I suggest that Fiyaz Mughal pack up his bags and move to Pakistan, where he can fight real religious persecution and oppression instead of spending all his time trawling Facebook pages and websites looking for aggressive, though largely harmless, statements to screen-shoot……

Sheema Khan

Sheema Khan

“Honour killing” is a centuries-old practice affecting primarily Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh women. According to Human Rights Watch, it goes across cultures and religions, and its dynamics are comparable to those behind dowry deaths and crimes of passion. Now there is a gruesome twist: young men have been killed by their families after declaring their homosexuality. It is a complex issue, requiring a multifaceted approach…..

Disu Kamor

Disu Kamor

While the Nigerian Muslim community is appalled by the ceaseless attack on Muslims in Hijab by governments and employers, we are united in our resolve and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with these courageous sisters and many like them that are engaged in the struggle to make the free choice to use the Hijab and to live in a society that respect their choice….

Raymond Ibrahim

Raymond Ibrahim

At a time when terrorism committed in the name of Islam is rampant, we are continuously being assured—especially by three major institutions that play a dominant role in forming the Western mindset, namely, mainstream media, academia, and government—that the sort of Islam embraced by “radicals,” “jihadis,” and so forth, has nothing to do with “real” Islam…..

Raheel Raza

Raheel Raza

What is ironic and hypocritical about the Islamophobia hype from members of the OIC is their double-standards when it comes to minorities in their own lands. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sudan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, the Palestinian Authority and Iran are among OIC members that have appalling human rights violations against minorities…..

Mehboob Makhdoomi

Generally, there are two perceptions of Islamophobia. One is the Phobia of Muslims and the other is the Phobia of ‘religion of Islam’. The third perception would be mixture of the two. The above eight components of Runnymede trust ascribe this phobia to Islam, while the Wikipedia defines Islamophobia as the prejudice against, hatred towards, or fear of Muslims or of ethnic groups perceived to be Muslim…..

Kashif Chaudhry

Kashif Chaudhry

I could not take it anymore. I moved to Pakistan to pursue a career in cardiology. My friends ask me if I will ever return to the States. I think I will but not until the Christian clergy stops condemning me as ‘worthy of death’ and the American government stops jailing me for calling myself a Muslim openly and for professing my faith as I deem fit. I miss the US a lot but I also love my new homeland. There are a few bigots here as well but I never have to worry about them….

Tarek Fatah

Tarek Fatah

There are 100 students in the class, all of us forced to create individual Twitter accounts. I’m not wholly clear on what our final project is yet, but we have to meet with a group in San Francisco, and our class will be surveying people of colour on the impact of some ads put out by (anti-Sharia blogger) Pamela Gellar. Now I’m no Pamela Gellar fan, I think she’s nuts…

Fahad Hashmi

Fahad Hashmi

The sole aim of Jamaat-e-Islami, a politico-religious party, wherever it exists, is to establish an Islamic state premised on a particular understanding of the Quran and the Islamic history. To put it another way, JIH seeks to bring theocracy or in Maududi’s word ‘Theo-democracy’, a blend of religion and politics. The ideology of Jamaat, which is Maududi’s brainchild, rests on binary opposites of Islam and Jahiliya. In traditional parlance Jahiliya means a stage before the advent of Islam. By putting a political spin on this apolitical notion the Islamist ideologue has made Jahiliya an antagonistic category which is at loggerheads with Jamaat’s understanding of Islam. This ‘Islam’ is puritanical, literalist and closed having desperation for grabbing political power only. The ‘Islam versus Jahiliya paradigm’ is the Archimedean plane—one and only plane—through which Jamaat tries to comprehend and interpret the present times….

Haseena Manek

This slippery slope has become a vehicle for xenophobic and anti-Islamophobic discourse, under the guise of critically examining organized religion, despite the fact that Professor Grayson himself spoke to Islamic and Jewish scholars who demonstrated that the student’s request was not in line with either religion…..